The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-05-26
gprse gptes.

L0fS bSSAA 0oANON HNS Ao
what I know of horse breeding, audit
has taken little persuasion to induce
me to do so, for to me the study of
the breeding problem has a fascina-
ton greater than that of anything else
whatever.
It is a custom to begin all essays on
horse breeding with a learned disser-
tation on the origin of the horse. This
custom [ propose to honor in the
breach. Whatever may have been
the origin Of the horse, it is certain
that the hand of man has so modified
his physical, mental and moral struc-
ture that nothing can now be gained
by a recurrence to first principles.
Whether it should be true or not, it
unquestionably is true that the most
potent argument is that Of the pocket.
It is therefore useless to speak of the
delights of breeding fine horses, of
watching the gradual development of
the stinted, staggering foal into the
smoothly-turned, high-mettled flyer,
unless it can be demonstrated that it
will pay. For this reason the first
thing to be considered is Will the
breeding of horses pay in North Caro-
lima? It is automatic that what has
been done can be done, and that some
of the best horses the world has ever
seen were bred in North Carolina, is
unquestionable. Midway between the
towns Of Weldon and Halifax still
c+,-I, 4bo o1l ooL ,,,lor urboeo oboJo
the mighty Sir Archy closed a life of
usefulness and honor, such as is vouch-
ssafed to few men even. On the banks
of the Roanoke, Henry, the mighty
competitor Of Eclipse, first saw the
light of day. In Northampton, Sir
Charles was foaled, and from his
union with Reality, bred in Warren,
came Bonnets-o-Blue herself a great
race and dam of the incompatible
Fashion. Many great and famous
horses were bred by the Williamsons,
Turner's and Joneses, in Caswell and
Orange and in Person the colts pro-
duced by old Fan-Tail brought her
owner what was for those days a for
tune. In Wake, Col. Stephenson bred
Omega, who was great eve in the
days of Portsmouth, and Vashti, bred
either in Granville or Nash, beat the
mighty Boston at his pet game of
four mile heats. All this was years
ago, say you. True, but even since
the war, there has been bred in
Northampton county Mary Long, the
gamest mare that ever looked through
a bride, and as fast as she was game,
and she to Red Dick produced Gov.
Vance, a horse nearly if not quite
frst-class and this same Red Dick
from a mare by Planet, begot Hat
teras, who at Charleston in the two
mile heat az made a holy show of
\Courier, and as Courier at the Louis
VILE meeting ran the two miles in
$50 IL or 3.3l IL. It took some
thing of a race horse to do it.
These instances might be multiplied,
but certainly enough has been said to
prove that horses not only good, but
as good as the best, have been bred in
North Carolina, and it can be done
again if we\try.
And right here [ want to turn loose
some Of the bile that has been swelling
up in M for the last ten years on
these people who can always see good
in everything wayfrom home. When
they read of the great Glenview sale,
where l75 head of horses sold for an
average of ST, 975-and you suggest
that possibly breeding such horses
would pay in North Carolina, they
say, ooh well, but we can't get such
stock here" and when you point to
the late combination sale where a mis-
ce%llaneous lot averaged over $500, andj
suggest that ever at that price breed
ing will pay, they say, "Oh, well,
but we can't get such prices here"
Such men as these have done more to
keep the world back than all things
else put together, and l have no doubt
when the millennium comes, if this class
of cattle don't succeed in putting it
off altogether, that some will be found
saying, ooh, well, it's a pretty good
millennium, but if you want to see a
real millennium, you ought to go over
to Jupiter or some Of the other
planets where they know how to run
one.n
They are right, however, to this ex-
tent We can't get such stock until
we study the breeding of horses and
learn what good blood really is, and
we can't get such prices until we get
good stock and demonstrate that we